The Spiritual Foundations of Beekeeping

The honeybee has lived in close association with human beings for millennia. Tragically, however, humanity’s once intimate connection with this unique creature has been harmed by our increasingly utilitarian and exploitative dealings with the natural world. We are now in urgent need of re-establishing a deeper relationship, not just for the sake of the bees themselves but for the whole of nature—and of course for ourselves.

Lorenzen—a true master beekeeper—provides numerous insights to enable a more fruitful engagement with the living world. Offering an enrichment of the knowledge and practice of beekeeping, he discusses the origins of the honeybee, its relationship to the floral kingdom, the digestion of the bee, the treatment of bee diseases as well as appropriate beekeeping techniques. He also develops subtle spiritual concepts such as the idea of the bee colony as an “individuality” and “group soul,” providing new depth and wisdom to our understanding of how bees live and work.